


Hot Blooded

by Windfighter



Series: Tony-centric whumptobers [7]
Category: Marvel, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Author is not good at tags, Gen, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Tony, Tony Stark-centric, sorry Tony, tony just wants to help everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-07 14:09:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18412232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windfighter/pseuds/Windfighter
Summary: Tony wakes up with a headache. He realizes the responsible thing to do is cancel all of the day's appointments and just roll straight back to sleep, but that would mean letting so many people down. So he decides to power through it....It goes about as well as you think





	1. Collapse

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Fever
> 
> ...This ended up getting longer than I had planned. Well I want to say that but I never really plan my stories in advance. It still got a lot longer than I thought it would ^^'  
> Hope you enjoy it anyway!

The pain in his head should have made him crawl straight back to bed, but he had three meetings Pepper had insisted he attended, Bruce wanted him to check on some of his equipment that was acting up, Steve had ideas for improvement for the gym, Clint and Natasha had requested some new gear before their next mission in three days, Peter was coming after school, and Scott and Sam also had something they wanted to show him. He sat down on his couch, rested his head in his hands. There was a throbbing pain above his eyes and across his nose. He rubbed his eyes, stood up again. He got dressed in the suit Pepper had picked out for him. The tie felt stiff against his throat, made him feel like he couldn't breathe, and he took it off again.

”Sir...”

”Mute.”

He left the darkness of his bedroom, had to clench his eyes shut as the sudden light caused a stabbing pain behind his eye. It took several seconds for it to disappear, then he slowly opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times before he was able to keep his eyes open. He made it to the elevator, leaned his forehead against the cool metal. Some of the pain subsided and he was starting to think he'd be able to make it through the day.

He changed his mind when the elevator door opened and he stepped right into another loud Avengers-argument. He couldn't even tell what it was about before he had to close his eyes and support himself against the wall. The stabbing pain behind his eye returned, spread like a wildfire across his frontal lobe. His stomach started twisting, wanted to empty itself and he took deep breaths to get it under control.

”Hey! Hey, Tony! You okay?”

”Mute”, Tony whispered.

”I'm not your AI, Tony. What's going on? Sleepwalking?”

Clint's voice echoed through his head, made him want to curl up in a ball or run away to protect himself from the pain, but he couldn't move. Hands clenched around his shoulders, steadied him.

”Hey Tony”, Steve whispered. ”What do you need?”

Tony opened his mouth to answer, couldn't form the words and closed it again with a groan.

”Do you need us to be quiet?”

Tony nodded and Steve let go of his shoulders. Silence fell. Tony took a couple of shaky breaths before opening his eyes. Everyone was staring at him. He let go of the wall, took a few stumbling steps before he regained his bearings and straightened his back. He grabbed a cup of coffee but was stopped from leaving by Bruce.

”How are you?”

Bruce kept his voice low, but it still made another bout of pain dance across his forehead.

”Good enough”, he croaked out.

He winced at the hoarseness in his voice and Bruce raised an eyebrow.

”Maybe you should return to bed.”

”I can sleep when I'm dead, got work to do.”

He pulled free from Bruce's grip, grabbed a box of advils from the cupboard and waved goodbye. No one followed him as he entered the elevator and he leaned against the wall. He took two pills from the box, swallowed them together with the coffee. Happy was waiting for him when he got down and Tony put the cup on the receptionist's desk and forced a smile towards Happy.

”You drive today, buddy.”

He sank down in the backseat, put a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and leaned back. He could see Happy eyeing him through the rear-view mirror but elected to ignore it and instead closed his eyes while waiting for the advils to start working. Slowly the headache lifted and he felt less like he was about to drop dead at any second. When they arrived he was almost feeling fine again. He still winced when Happy slammed the door shut, but he managed to walk into the building with his usual stride, smiled to the receptionist and flirted a little with her while waiting for someone to come and get him. He only had to wait a couple of minutes, then a man arrived, escorted him to a room full with other men, all looking grumpy. Tony grinned as he entered the room.

”Hey, what's with the sullen looks? Did someone die?”

”This is no joking matter, Mr. Stark”, one of them said and gestured for him to sit down. ”We're here to revise the Stark software after it was hacked and allowed a bankrobbery to happen.”

”That was an inside-job”, Tony protested. ”There is nothing wrong with our software.”

He sank down in the appointed chair and tiredness swept over him, starting from his sinuses that now felt like there was a small fire in them. He rubbed his eyes, sat straighter in the chair and reached for a cup of coffee in hopes that it would be able to keep him awake.

”We are aware, Mr. Stark, but the media and the stock holders still want to know how we'll be dealing with this.”

”Don't hire people who'll work with the bad guys. We done?”

”Mr. Stark, you'd do wise to take the matter seriously.”

”Is that a threat?” Tony turned to the guy next to him. ”I'm pretty sure that was a threat. I'm feeling very threatened right now.”

He didn't if he was being honest, but it was a stupid-ass problem and he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing to solve it. He let out a sigh, placed his elbows on the table and forced his face into serious businessman-mode. The headache was starting to come back and if the only way to get out and get back into the safety of his car was to take care of this non-problem then that was what he had to do.

”Okay then, let's see what we have to work with.”

Together they went to work. Staring at the numbers and listening to the grumpy men made Tony's headache worse for every second. Sunlight had blessed them with its absence during the beginning of the meeting but was now starting to slip into the room. Tony pressed his hand against his left eye, drank his third cup of coffee in an hour, but it didn't help. Usually by now he would be texting Steve or Bruce or Peter, maybe tease Nick a bit, while simultanously singlehandedly coming up with the solution. He shook his head, a huge stab of pain in his head made him feel nauseous. It woke him up a little, helped him focus for a couple of minutes, then the drowzyness returned. After an agonizing 75 minutes they finally reached a solution. Tony got up from the chair, swayed a little but grabbed the end of the table to steady himself and smiled to the others.

”This was great, thanks for showing me how boring meetings can be. Let's not do this ever again, shall we?”

The businessmen rolled their eyes, but Tony was used to that, was feeling too nauseous to care. He left the room, left the building and almost fell into the backseat of the car. He laid down, placed his arm over his eyes.

”Seatbelt”, Happy chimed from the driver's seat.

”I'm letting you drive and this is how you repay me? Just let me die in peace.”

”Pepper will kill both of us if you don't get to your meetings on time.”

Tony grumbled in reply, but sat up and put the seatbelt on. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat. He could feel Happy eyeing him again.

”Are you okay, sir? You look like you're about to pass out. Should I call Miss Potts to cancel the rest of the meetings?”

”It's too late anyway. Don't worry, I'll be fine.” He didn't believe that. ”It's just two more hours, then you can take me home and I can collapse into my bed.”

Not that he would, he still needed to get the rest of the things done. Happy nodded, started the car and drove towards the next meeting. Both of them were in the same building, Pepper had briefed him on them the day before but he had already forgotten everything. He took out his phone to glance over the notes, but had to put it away again when the three cups of coffee threatened to come back up. Happy pulled to a stop and Tony handed him the phone.

”Tell me what the meetings are about. Just in brief.”

”The first one seems to be about the arc reactor.”

Always the arc reactor and Tony groaned. He would probably have to actually pay attention to some of that.

”The other one is a board meeting.”

Tony usually didn't pay much attention to those, and Pepper would be there as well so he could relax a bit more. Happy gave his phone back and gave him a worried look when he tumbled out of the car.

”My offer to take you straight back home still stands.”

Tony shook his head, then immediately regretted his action as the coffee made his stomach rumble. He managed to get to the side of the sidewalk just as the liquid forced its way up his throat and out of his mouth. Happy massaged his back, and when Tony was done throwing up Happy handed him a bottle of water. Tony gratefully accepted, rinsed the taste of vomit out of his mouth. The tension in his body was less severe now, his headache slightly lesser again.

”Migraine?” Happy asked as Tony handed the bottle back.

”Just a headache”, Tony said although he was starting to doubt it. ”I'd better hurry or I'll be late.”

He wiped sweat off his forehead before entering the building and making his way to the meeting room. Arc reactor technology was at least more interesting than a corrupt guard in a bank. He sank down in a seat just as the meeting started, reached for a cup of coffee then decided he shouldn't risk it. He didn't have to do much, just offer the occassional advice and warning about the technology. The meeting was mostly about how to make money from it and sure, making money was great, but Tony wasn't very good at that. That's why he had people who'd turn his inventions into profits for him after all. Tony just wanted to invent. He put his elbow on the table, rested his head in his hand and closed his eyes. The pounding in his head was getting worse and he regretted not having let Happy take him home, especially since his nose was getting itchy as well.

”If Mr. Stark would want to return to the land of the living...”

”I'm alive, you all just sound more intelligent when I don't have to see you.”

There was a couple of snickers, a lot more groans, but they didn't bother him again until the meeting was over. He got up, nodded to the others, then went up another 5 floors to the next meeting. Pepper waved at him and he sank down next to her.

”How did the meetings go?” was her first question.

Tony blinked, suppressed a yawn and pulled his sleeve across his nose. It was running now. Why hadn't he stayed at home? He met Peppers eyes, let out a sigh. He knew why – he couldn't let Pepper down again.

”They were...” He rubbed his eyes and massaged his forehead while trying to come up with a good way to say it. ”...very interesting. We got some good stuff done.”

He sniffled, pulled the sleeve across his nose again. Pepper looked at her notes and Tony leaned back in the chair.

”Do I have to be here for this? Board meetings are so boring.”

”All meetings are boring to you. You should stay, otherwise they might try to claim you as unfit to make decisions again.”

”Right now I am”, Tony muttered and leaned forwards, resting his head in his hands.

”What?”

”Nothing, never mind. How does this work, what do I have to do?”

”Pay attention.”

The meeting started. Tony tried paying attention as Pepper had told him to, but his mind drifted and he fell asleep three times. When he almost fell asleep a fourth time he downed a cup of coffee, his stomach protesting his decision. It should have made him more awake, but instead he felt even more tired. He tried to not sniffle but his nose was running and his throat was starting to get itchy as well.

”Pepper?” Tony whispered half-way through the meeting.

She didn't look at him. He could barely focus his gaze on her, darkness was creeping at the edges of his vision and slowly surrounding him and the pain in his head was so intense he was sure his head was about to expload.

”I think I'm gonna black out”, he continued.

”If you fall asleep again I will end you”, she whispered back.

”No, I'm gonna...”

Darkness engulfed him before he could finish the sentence. When it disappeared again he was lying on the floor, his feet on a chair, a coat folded under his head and pain radiating from his right shoulder. He opened his eyes, closed them again.

”Sorry”, he whispered. ”Thought I needed to... liven up the party.”

”Go home, Mr. Stark”, the chairman said. ”You clearly need rest.”

He wanted to protest but he did, he was well aware. Pepper was glaring at him, worry still visible behind the anger. He wasn't sure why she was worried, he had done worse things than faint during a board meeting. He sat up slowly, the headache still intense but he didn't think his head was going to explode any longer. Pepper helped him to his feet and he shot her a weak smile.

”Let me know when you get back home, okay?” she whispered.

”Will do, Ms Potts”, Tony gave a small wave, excused himself and left the room. Happy was sitting in the reception when Tony came back down and immediately rushed over to him.

”Are you okay, sir? The meeting was supposed to continue for another half hour.”

”I'm okay, just take me home.”

”Sir”, Happy grabbed Tony's arm to keep him steady and steer him to the car, ”excuse me but you are clearly not okay.”

”Just need some rest.”

He laid down in the back of the car again, but Happy sat him right back up and fastened his seatbelt. Tony fell asleep shortly after the car started, welcomed the short relief from the headache. They arrived back at the tower way too soon and Happy woke him up again. He felt a bit more energized after the nap, but Happy gave him a worried look so he probably still looked like shit.

”You better go straight to bed, sir.”

”Yeah, sure.”

He took the elevator up to his floor, took off the suit and pulled on a t-shirt and sweatpants before heading down to Bruce's floor. Bruce wasn't there, but he knew where the equipment was and what needed to be done so he went to work.

”Sir, you shouldn't be working”, Jarvis said after ten minutes.

”Do I need to mute you again?”

Tony's throat itched and he couched, rolled out from under the huge machine he was working on and grabbed one of Bruce's medical masks. He put it over his mouth before going back to work. Jarvis refrained from coming with any more medical advices, Tony stared in confusion at the cables he had pulled out. His body felt sluggish, his brain felt like it was missing and the only proof he had that it was still there was the constant ache that had spread from the frontal lobe towards the parietal and temporal lobe as well. He shook his head carefully, sniffled and returned to work, certain that he'd figure it out if he just got started.

He did, and when he closed the hatch again the machine was humming contently. He asked Jarvis to do a quick diagnosis of it just to be sure and when it came back positive he put the tools away, wiped the sweat of his face and took the elevator up to his lab. He only had three days and there was a lot of gear he needed to make to keep Natasha and Clint safe.

”Daddy's back”, he said as he entered the room, then regretted it as his robots beeped to life loudly. He put his hand over his eye again, tried to will away the stabbing pain behind it. He threw the medical mask into the wastebin, went into the small bathroom and blew his nose before taking two more advils. He laid down on the couch while waiting for them to start working. Dum-E came over with a cup of coffee and he put it on the floor.

”Thanks, kid.”

Dum-E whirred and Tony clenched his eyes shut.

”Please be quiet, daddy has a killer headache.”

After half an hour he realized it wouldn't get better so he went over to the desk, got to work. Jarvis helped projecting his ideas and he cleaned them up, added stuff, threw other details into the digital wastebin. His coughing got worse as he worked, and after an hour working he had a coughing fit so bad it left him gasping for air.

”Sir”, Jarvis started but Tony interrupted him.

”Yeah, I'm gonna take a break. Hold the fort while daddy's out.”

He left the workshop. His legs felt weak, his whole body felt weak. Another coughing fit ripped through his body as he took the elevator to the kitchen. His lungs felt like they were burning, his nose wouldn't stop running, the pain in his head made itself reminded constantly and even louder every time he coughed or there was any sound or bright light. He stopped by the kitchen, grabbed a toast and a cup of water and tried to not let nausea overwhelm him as he swallowed it. No one else was there and he rested for a couple of minutes on the couch before he continued to the training room.

Steve was in there, just as Tony had suspected, and the moment the doors opened he stopped beating the sandbag. Tony was grateful for that. He sat down on one of the benches, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Steve sat down next to him.

”You look pretty sick”, Steve said.

His voice was low and another wave of gratefulness washed over Tony.

”I'm good”, he answered, eventhough they both knew it was a lie.

”Jarvis, please dim the lights”, Steve continued.

The room got darker and Tony opened his eyes again, looked at Steve. Steve was staring right back at him, worried. Why was everyone worried? He wasn't worth it. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead had to slap his hands over it as another cough tore through him. Steve massaged his shoulders and Tony winced in pain, causing Steve to pull back again.

”Fell on it”, Tony explained when he could breathe again.

”You should get to bed, I can make you some soup.”

”No can do, Cap, too busy being on my best selfish, egoistic and narcissistic behaviour and taking care of stuff for you people.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, but refrained from arguing. Tony gestured towards the gym.

”You said you had ideas?” he asked.

”We'll talk about that when you feel better. Don't push yourself too hard.”

”Used to be that I don't push myself hard enough.”

Tony coughed again, not as badly, and Steve smiled sadly.

”I know you better now.”

”The others don't, I'd like to keep it that way.”

Tony blew his nose and closed his eyes as it made another jolt of pain cut through his frontal lobe and made it feel like his head had just split open. He pressed a hand against his forehead and groaned.

”How bad is it?”

”Just a cold.”

”Sir's temperature is currently at 41 degrees celcius.”

Tony winced at Jarvis' voice and Steve glanced worriedly between Tony and the ceiling.

”That is... definately not good.”

”I've survived worse. Jarvis, stop tracing my vitals.”

”Should I get Bruce to check on you?”

”Nah, I'm good Cap. Thanks though. For... you know...”

Tony got up, almost fell right back down as his blood rused from his head and darkness clouded his eyes. Steve grabbed him, held him steady until he could hold himself up again. Tony let out a sigh.

”I'll... rest when I'm done. With everything.”

”I can carry you to bed and hold you there, you know that right?”

”You'll have to face an army or Iron Men for that. Sorry Capcicle, but I... I need to get the gear done.” He coughed again, then shot Steve one of his playboy-smiles. ”I'll catch you later for the gym.”

Steve pulled a hand through his hair, sighed. Tony waved, then left the gym again. He could hear Steve getting back to his exercises, talking with Jarvis while doing it. Part of him wanted to just abandon the strong persona he had made of himself, collapse in Steve's arms and let him carry him upstairs and tuck him in. Part of him wanted to never admit that he wanted it. He shook his head, leaned against the wall as a wave of dizzyness almost caused him to collapse again. It took a minute for it to pass, then he took the elevator down to Sam's floor.

”Knock knock”, he said as he entered the lab Sam and Scott had been working in.

His voice was raspy, but neither of them seemed to react to it, both focused on whatever it was they were working on. He walked closer, let out a small cough to catch their attention, and they turned around while throwing a blanket over the table.

”You wanted to show me something?”

”Oh yeah”, Sam didn't keep his voice low, instead it was loud and excited and Tony almost flinched but did his best to stand tall. ”Scott and I have been working on improving my wings. We made some pretty cool improvements to them!”

Sam grabbed him and he couldn't help but flinching and pulling away. They stared at him and he gave a nervous laugh.

”I don't like being touched.”

”Geez, sorry. Anyway, come one, come check this out!”

Tony's whole head was pounding like crazy, but he followed the two farther into the lab. Sam kept talking, occassionally Scott said something whenever Sam glanced over an important detail and Tony tried to focus on them, he really did. But the words got jumbled in his brain, he couldn't make sense of them, couldn't make it out and his vision was starting to swim in and out. After five minutes of it he clenched his eyes shut and pressed his hands against his eyes. He held his breath, swallowed to keep the water and toast he had had earlier down.

”You aren't even listening!” Sam's voice cut through the room, louder than it had been before and Tony liked Sam, he really, really did, but right now he just wanted Sam to be quiet, to take a step back and let him gather himself, wait for his head to stop being smashed open.

”Just... just let me...” Tony whimpered.

”No, Stark, we're done here! We were really excited to show you this, but of course you don't care, you don't care about anything that isn't about you!”

Sam didn't mean it, Tony knew that. The words didn't hurt as much as the voice. Tony moved his hands to his ears, kept his eyes shut. He was going to black out and he couldn't walk away.

”Sam... Sam, I think...” Scott started.

Tony's knees folded, acid shot through his esophagus, up his throat. Pieces of halfdigested bread followed it and he couldn't keep it in, it forced his mouth opened, couldn't exit through his mouth quick enough and pushed through his nose as well. He couldn't breathe, couldn't stop it. It splashed over the floor, kept coming. Sam and Scott jumped back, he could hear them shouting, couldn't hear what they shouted. Darkness surrounded him and he fell to the floor.

 


	2. Diagnosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this was just gonna be 2 chapters, but then Tony decided to get sicker than I had planned so heck if I know by now. Also the song "Shut up and dance" is not good background music for writing this type of fic but it is the only song my brain agrees to listen to for the moment so I hope it worked anyway???

Sam panicked. There was no other way to describe it. He watched Tony double over, throw up and fall to the floor without being able to move. Was it his fault? Tony had looked bad and he was usually always excited to see what Sam and Scott was working on and Sam hadn't meant what he said, he just wanted Tony to behave as usual. Sam's breathing got quicker, his eyes locked onto Tony, but he still couldn't move. Scott sank down next to the billionaire, gave him a light shake. The sound of discomfort that came from the unconscious genius made Sam's whole body hurt.

”Captain Rogers has been informed and is on his way. Mr. Wilson, do I need to start the panic protocol?”

Jarvis' voice woke Sam up, grounded him. He shook his head, glanced at Scott and Tony and went to fetch a damp towel.

”Are you certain, Mr. Wilson? I am still detecting an elevated heart rate from you.”

”Are you tracking my vitals?”

He placed the towel on Tony's forehead and Jarvis gave him an affirmative answer. He pulled Tony's hair away from his face.

”Do we need to call a doctor for him?” Scott asked.

The question wasn't aimed at Sam and he ignored it, tried to make Tony comfortable on the floor. He felt bad, he should have noticed how that his friend and colleague was sick, but instead he had focused on what he wanted to show him.

”Doctor Banner has been informed, but he is currently not in the tower. Sir will not approve of any other doctor.”

”Bruce isn't even that kind of doctor”, Sam muttered.

The door opened again and Sam shot to his feet, flinched under the angry gaze Captain America was wearing.

”You're such an idiot!

It wasn't meant for him, but Sam still flinched and took a step back. He watched as Steve sank down next to Tony, had always wanted Captain America to stop on his floor, but not for something like this and his stomach hurt. He felt guilty, like this mess was his fault eventhough he knew, _he knew_ , just how terrible Tony was at taking care of himself.

”How long has he been out?” Steve asked.

”90 seconds”, Scott answered.

Had it only been 90 seconds? Time seemed to have slowed down, he couldn't tell how much of it passed. Steve scooped Tony up in his arms, nodded to Scott and Sam. Sam saluted him and then he left. Sam's legs felt weak and he let himself slid down to the floor. Scott looked at him.

”That was a disaster”, he said, ”but I'm sure Tony still wants to hear it when he feels better.”

Sam nodded, his gaze fell on the pile of vomit Tony had left behind and he managed to get to his feet again.

”Tony's gonna feel completely guilty about this later”, he said and grabbed a bucket and a mop to clean up. Scott took the blanket from the table and went back to work with their next project. Sam joined him when he was done, pushing all thoughts about Tony to the back of his mind. There was no use worrying, Captain America had him and Bruce would return soon to check on him. It would work out.

 

Tony was being carried. He didn't want to open his eyes; his whole head was painful, his shoulder was pounding, his chest was burning and he just felt terrible. But on the other hand if he was being kidnapped again he wanted to see what was going on. He forced his eyes open, the pain exploded across his head and he had to close them again before he could see anything. A whimper escaped him and he pressed his face against whoever was carrying him, friend or foe didn't matter, he just wanted to escape the pain. They took a firmer grip around him, whispered soft words he couldn't make out. He knew the voice but usually it yelled at him. Today had been so weird.

”Steve”, he whispered.

His throat hurt with every letter and he coughed, his body shivered. He tried to press himself even closer to Steve, wanted some of the heat that was radiating from him. Instead he ended up on the floor. The landing had been soft, but he let out another whimper anyway.

”I can't hold you if you're going to move around.”

”Happened?”

”We'll talk about it later.”

Steve lifted Tony again, cradled him like a child against his chest, and Tony rested his head on Steve's shoulder, wrapped his arm around Steve's neck and tried not to move. He coughed, muttered an excuse and Steve laughed quietly. The door to Tony's bedroom opened and Steve sat Tony down on the bed. Tony rested his head in his hand.

”Do you feel well enough to shower?”

Tony shook his head, groaned. Steve hugged his shoulder.

”You can sleep in a moment, we need to clean you up a little and change your clothes.”

Steve left, went into Tony's bathroom. Tony started struggling with the shirt. It smelled gross and was drenched in vomit and he just wanted to rip it off, get away from the smell that was offending his nose even though his nose was blocked. He started coughing again, worse this time. His lungs felt like they were being ripped apart, he couldn't breathe, his head was swimming and darkness threatened him again. In the middle of it bile forced its way up, forced him to stop coughing to let it out, but he needed air. He gasped when almost all of the bile had left his mouth, then had to cough again as some of it slipped down his respiratory track. Tears formed in his eyes, the cough subsided and he fell to the side, breathed heavily. His body was wet with sweat and he shivered hard, felt so incredible cold.

”I'll take care of it”, Steve whispered while cleaning him up with a slightly damp towel. ”Don't worry about it.”

Another cough ripped through Tony but didn't leave him gasping for air. Steve pulled off his pants and he shivered even more, recognized somewhere in the back of his mind that he should make a snarky remark but he couldn't come up with any, wouldn't have been able to say it anyway. Two blankets were placed over him, tucked in around him and Steve lifted his head, placed a pillow under it before laying a cold towel against his forehead.

”Do you think you'll throw up again?”

”nnn if you shu f”

”...what?”

Tony swallowed, gathered himself. He didn't dare risk opening his eyes.

”Not if you... shut your... face.”

”Want me to leave?”

Tony shook his head. His lungs burned and he pressed a hand against his chest. Steve's hands rolled him over to his back, placed more pillows under him. He was almost sitting up. Breathing got a little easier and he relaxed. He heard Jarvis say something about not being allowed to check on him, and then he fell asleep. Nightmares didn't plague him, didn't have time to arrive as he was constantly jolted awake by his coughs. He only opened his eyes once, noticed Steve sitting at the end of the bed and sketching in the dim light of a lamp his AI always kept lit. It gave Tony a sense of security whenever he woke up from a nightmare, but now it just gave him a headache. He watched Steve for a while then remembered the last thing on his to do-list for the day.

”How long...” he took a couple of deep breaths, ”...have I slept?”

”One hour.”

”Peter?”

”Is Peter coming today?”

Tony nodded, closed his eyes again.

”Do you want us to call him and tell him to come another day?”

”Jarvis, time?”

”15:30, sir.”

Peter was probably already on his way. Tony shook his head, tried to sit up, tried to get out of the bed, but Steve was at his side, held him down.

”I'm not letting you out of the bed until Bruce has checked on you.”

”Peter...”

”Don't worry about him, the rest of us can entertain him.”

”We were gonna”, Tony swallowed as nausea threatened him again, ”gonna work on the suit.”

”The suit will still be there next week.”

Tony relaxed back into the pillows. There was no use pretending to be fine any longer, the truth was out and everyone knew and he was feeling so tired. His whole body was aching by now.

”Doctor Banner just arrived and will be here in a few minutes, Captain.”

”Thanks, Jarvis.”

Tony clenched his eyes shut again, placed his arm over his eyes. His body started shivering and Steve wrapped the blankets around him again.

”Sir, am I allowed to check your vitals again?”

”Whatever, everyone knows by now”, Tony murmured.

The soft humming of electronics echoed through the walls. Tony breathed in short gasps, tried to relax to the sound he had surrounded himself with his whole life. Steve was pulling his fingers through Tony's hair and it felt weird, it was Pepper who used to do that and Tony didn't like anyone touching him, he didn't, and yet the touch made him breathe just a little easier.

”Your fever is down to 40.5 degrees, sir.”

”That's still not good”, Steve whispered.

The door opened, Bruce stopped in the door, leaned against the doorframe and panted. Tony lifted his arm just a little, just enough so he could shoot what he hoped was a calming smile in Bruce's direction.

”Not dying”, he said.

He had to cough, he flinched at the pain in his lungs. Steve held a cup of water to his lips and he took two small sips. The cold water soothed his burning throat but did little to clear the pain in his chest. Bruce came up to him and he closed his eyes, once again gave up on trying to act healthy. Something cold pressed against his chest, followed by a low hum from Bruce. Steve's arms sat him up and the cold pressed against his back instead.

”Cough”, Bruce instructed and Tony coughed, winced and coughed again. He couldn't stop coughing. The cold disappeared, Steve massaged his back, waited for the coughing to subside.

”...ow”, Tony whined when it was over.

Steve laid him back down, gave him some more water. Bruce exchanged some words with Jarvis, Tony couldn't hear them, focused on breathing, on not blacking out. Bruce came up to him again and Tony opened his eyes just enough to look at him. He looked worried.

”Have you eaten anything?”

”Yeah...”

”It came back up”, Steve said because of course Tony wouldn't admit that. Bruce's face got even more worried.

”Too much sounds”, Tony explained and Bruce shook his head.

”I'm going to have another talk with you about your health later. Think you can keep something down?”

”Mhm...”

”I'll make you some toast and tea. Do you want Steve to stay?”

Tony nodded, let his eyes fall close again. He heard Bruce leave the room, could hear Steve get back to sketching. He was still tired, but the pain in his head had lessened after what little sleep he had gotten and was focused to his forehead again. He focused on his breathing, tried to not question why he had wanted Steve to stay. Breathing was painful, he couldn't take deep breaths, but he was used to that, hadn't been able to take deep breaths since he woke up with a magnet in his chest.

Bruce returned, shook him awake. The nightlight was still the only light in the room, didn't increase his headache now and he asked Jarvis to turn on a couple more lights. He could navigate his room in the dark but it wasn't fair to ask others to do the same. He sat up, Bruce removed some of the pillows behind him and he moved closer to the headboard, leaned against it. A tray was placed over his legs, tea and toast staring at him. He regretted saying that he could keep it down, his stomach was starting to protest, but he grabbed the toast, bit into it and forced himself to swallow.

”...oh”, he said when the toast reached his stomach and he realized it was protesting about him not giving it food fast enough. He ate the rest, took a few sips of the tea. It was sweet and he glanced at Bruce, who was smiling.

”Honey”, he said. ”How are you feeling?”

”Better”, Tony had to admit. ”Everything still hurts though.”

”Figured. You have the flu.”

”Not just a cold?”

Bruce shook his head and Tony groaned. A cold knocked him out for days, but flu was always so much worse. Another cough shook his body and Bruce saved the tea before he spilled it all over himself. He breathed heavily and leaned his head back when it stopped.

”I hate being sick.”

”Most people do”, Bruce smiled at him. ”At least you're able to eat this time.”

”Sir, Peter just landed on the roof. Also, Miss Potts is on the phone. Should I let her through?”

”Yeah, sure.”

The TV-screen buzzed to life and Pepper's face appeared on it. Tony waved to her.

”Hey, sweetie.”

”Tony?! Oh dear god, you're alive! Why didn't you call me?!”

Tony winced and Steve coughed to grab Pepper's attention.

”Miss Potts, if you could please keep your volume down, Tony has a headache.”

”Is he alright?” she lowered her voice. ”Are you alright, Tony?”

”Just flu. Sorry about not calling.”

”Didn't you get your flu shot?”

”2 days ago. Guess I was too late this year.”

She looked worried and Tony forced a smile.

”It's fine, I have Steve and Bruce to care for me. Call you when I feel better?”

”Don't forget this time. Feel better soon.”

The call ended and Tony let out a heavy sigh. He glanced at Steve and Bruce.

”You two go entertain the kid, I'm gonna sleep anyway.”

He was so tired, the call had completely drained him. Bruce helped him down again, patted his shoulder. He gave one last weak smile before closing his eyes. He was asleep before they left the room.

 


End file.
